Demands that strict atonement should be made,
And claims the forfeit on th' offender's head!
But Doubt demands-" Why man dispos'd
"this way?
Uncertain his abode, and coarse his food,
His life one fair continued scene of good;
For us sustain the wrath to man decreed,
The victim of eternal justice bleed!
Look! to the cross the Lord of life is tied,
They pierce his hands, and wound his sacred"
side;
See God expires! our forfeit to atone,
While nature trembles at his parting groan!
Advance, thou hopeless mortal, steel'd in guilt,
Behold, and, if thou canst, forbear to melt!
Shall Jesus die thy freedom to regain,
And wilt thou drag the voluntary chain?
Wilt thou refuse thy kind assent to give,
When dying he looks down to bid thee live!
Perverse, wilt thou reject the proffer'd good,
Bought with his life, and streaming in his blood?
Whose virtue can thy deepest crimes efface,
Re-heal thy nature, and confirm thy peace!
Can all the errors of thy life atone,
And raise thee from a rebel to a son!
O blest Redeemer, from thy sacred throne, Where saints and angels sing thy triumphs won! (Where from the grave thou rais'd thy glorious head,
Chain'd to thy car the pow'rs infernal led)
From that exalted height of bliss supreme,
Look down on those who bear thy sacred name;
Restore their ways, inspire them by thy grace,
Thy laws to follow, and thy steps to trace;
Thy bright example to thy doctrine join,
And by their morals prove their faith divine!
Nor only to thy church confine thy ray,
O'er the glad world thy healing light display;
Fair Sun of Righteousness! in beauty rise,
And clear the mists that cloud the mental skies!
To Judah's remnant, now a scatter'd train,
Oh great Messiah! show thy promis'd reign;
O'er earth as wide thy saving warmth diffuse,
As spreads the ambient air, or falling dews;
And haste the time when, vanquish'd by thy
pow'r,
Death shall expire, and sin defile no more!
Hence distant far, ye sons of earth profane,
The loose, ambitious, covetous, or vain:
Ye worms of pow'r! ye minion'd slaves of state,
The wanton vulgar, and the sordid great!
But come, ye purer souls, from dross refin'd,
The blameless heart and uncorrupted mind!
Let your chaste hands the holy altars raise,
Fresh incense bring, and light the glowing blaze,
Your grateful voices aid the Muse to sing
The spotless justice of th' Almighty King!
As only rectitude divine he knows,
As truth and sanctity his thoughts compose;
So these the dictates which th Eternal Mind
To reasonable beings has assign'd;
These has his care on ev'ry mind impress'd,
The conscious seals the hand of Heav'n attest!
When man, perverse, for wrong forsakes the
right,
He still attentive keeps the fault in sight;
Why left the dang'rous choice to go astray?
If Heav'n that made him did the fault foresee,
"Thence follows, Heav'n is more to blame than
No-had to good the heart alone inclin'd, [he."
What toil, what prize had virtue been assign'd?
From obstacles her noblest triumphs flow,
Her spirits languish when she finds no foe!
Man might perhaps have so been happy still,
Happy, without the privilege of will,
And just, because his hands were tied from ill!
O wondrous scheme, to mend th' almighty plan,
By sinking all the dignity of man!
Yet turn thy eyes, vain sceptic, own thy pride,
And view thy happiness and choice allied;
See virtue from herself her bliss derive,
A bliss, beyond the pow'r of thrones to give;
See vice, of empire and of wealth possess'd,
Pine at the heart, and feel herself unbless'd:
And, say, were yet no farther marks assign'd,
Is man ungrateful? or is Heav'n unkind?
Yes, all the woes from Heav'n permissive
fall,
"The wretch adopts-the wretch improves them
From his wild lust, or his oppressive deed, [all."
Rapes, battles, murders, sacrilege proceed;
His wild ambition thins the peopled earth,
Or from his av'rice famine takes her birth;
Had nature giv'n the hero wings to fly,
His pride would lead him to attempt the sky!
To angels make the pigmy's folly known,
And draw ev'n pity from th' eternal throne.
Yet while on earth triumphant vice prevails,
Celestial Justice balances her scales;
With eye unbiass'd all the scene surveys,
With hand impartial ev'ry crime she weighs;
Oft close pursuing at his trembling heels,
The man of blood her awful presence feels;
Oft from her arm, amidst the blaze of state,
The regal tyrant, with success elate,
Is forc'd to leap the precipice of fate!
Or if the villain pass unpunish'd here,
Tis but to make the future stroke severe;
For soon or late eternal Justice pays
Mankind the just desert of all their ways.
"Tis in that awful all-disclosing day,
When high Omniscience shall her books display,
When Justice shall present her strict account,
While Conscience shall attest the due amount;
That all who feel, condemn the dreadful rod,
Shall own that righteous are the ways of God!
Oh then, while penitence can fate disarm,
While ling'ring Justice yet withholds its arm;
While heavenly patience grants the precious time,
Let the lost sinner think him of his crime;
Immediate, to the seat of mercy fly,
Nor wait to-morrow-lest to-night he die!
But tremble, all ye sins of blackest birth,
Ye giants, that deform the face of earth;
Tremble, ye sons of aggravated guilt,
And, ere too late, let sorrow learn to melt:
Remorseless Murder! drop thy hand severe,
And bathe thy bloody weapon with a tear;
Go, Lust impure! converse with friendly light,
Forsake the mansions of defiling night;
Quit, de k Hypocrisy, thy thin disguise,
Nor think to cheat the notice of the skies!
Unsocial Avarice, thy grasp forego,
And bid the useful treasure learn to flow!
Restore, Injustice, the defrauded gain !
Oppression, bend to ease the captive's chain,
Ere awful Justice strike the fatal blow!
And drive you to the realms of night below!
But doubt resumes--"If Justice has decreed
"The punishment proportion'd to the deed;
"Eternal misery seems too severe,
"Too dread a weight for wretched man to bear! "Too harsh!-that endless torments should repay "The crimes of life-the errors of a day!"
In vain our reason would presumptuous pry; Heav'n's counsels are beyond conception high: In vain would thought his measur'd justice scan; His ways how different from the ways of man! Too deep for thee his secrets are to know, Inquire not, but more wisely shun the woe; Warn'd by his threat'nings, to his laws attend, And learn to make Omnipotence thy friend! Our weaker laws, to gain the purpos'd ends, Oft pass the bounds the lawgiyer intends, Oft partial pow'r, to serve its own design, Warps from the text, exceeding reason's line; Strikes biass'd at the person, not the deed, And sees the guiltless unprotected bleed!
But God alone, with unimpassion'd sight,
Surveys the nice barrier of wrong and right;
And while subservient, as his will ordains,
Obedient nature yields the present means;
While neither force nor passions guide his views,
Ev'n Evil works the purpose he pursues!
That bitter spring, the source of human pain!
Heal'd by his touch does mineral health contain;
And dark affliction at his potent rod,
Withdraws its cloud, and brightens into good.
Thus human justice (far as man can go)
For private safety strikes the dubious blow;
But Rectitude divine, with nobler soul,
Consults each individual in the whole!
Directs the issues of each moral strife,
And sees creation struggle into life!
And you, ye happier souls! who in his ways
Observant walk, and sing his daily praise;
Ye righteous few! whose calm unruffled breasts
No fears can darken, and no guilt infests,
To whom his gracious promises extend,
In whom they centre, and in whom shall end,
Which (bless'd on that foundation sure who build)
Shall with eternal Justice be fulfill'd:
Ye sons of life, to whose glad hope is giv'n
The bright reversion of approaching heav'n,
With grateful hearts his glorious praise recite,
Whose love from darkness call'd you out to
So let your piety reflective shine, [light;
As men may thence confess his truth divine!
And when this mortal veil, as soon it must,
Shall drop, returning to its native dust;
The work of life with approbation done, Receive from God your bright immortal crown.
But oh, advent'rous Muse, restrain thy flight, Dare not the blaze of uncreated light! Before whose glorious throne with dread surprise Th' adoring seraph veils his dazzled eyes; Whose pure effulgence, radiant to excess, No colors can describe, or words express ! All the fair beauties, all the lucid stores, Which o'er thy work thy hand resplendent pours, Feeble, thy brighter glories to display, Pale as the moon before the solar ray!
See on his throne the gaudy Persian plac'd,
In all the pomp
of the luxuriant east!
While mingling gems a borrow'd day unfold,
And the rich purple waves emboss'd with gold;
Yet mark this scene of painted grandeur yield
To the fairly that adorns the field!
Obscur'd, behold that fainter lily lies,
By the rich bird's inimitable dyes;
Yet these survey confounded and outdone
By the superior lustre of the sun;
That sun himself withdraws his lessen'd beam
From Thee, the glorious Author of his frame !
Transcendent Pow'r! sole arbiter of fate!
How great thy glory! and thy bliss how great!
To view from thy exalted throne above,
(Eternal source of light, and life, and love)
Unnumber'd creatures draw their smiling birth,
To bless the heav'ns, or beautify the earth,
While systems roll, obedient to thy view,
And worlds rejoice-which Newton never knew.
Then raise the song, the gen'ral anthem raise,
And swell the concert of eternal praise!
Assist, ye orbs, that form this boundless whole,
Which in the womb of space unnumber'd roll;
Ye planet who compose our lesser scheme,
And bend, concertive, round the solar frame ;
Thou eye of nature! whose extensive ray
With endless charms adorns the face of day;
Consenting raise th' harmonious joyful sound,
And bear his praises thro' the vast profound!
His praise, ye winds that fan the cheerful air,
Swift as they pass along your pinions bear!
His praise let ocean through her realms display,
Far as her circling billows can convey!
His praise, ye misty vapors, wide diffuse,
In rains descending, or in milder dews!
His praises whisper, ye majestic trees,
As your tops rustle to the gentle breeze!
His praise around, ye flow'ry tribes, exhale,
Far as your sweets embalm the spicy gale!
His praise, ye dimpled streams, to earth reveal,
As pleas'd ye murmur through the flow'ry vale!
His praise,ye feather'd choirs, distinguish'd sing,
As to your notes the vocal forests ring!
His praise proclaim, ye monsters of the deep,
Who in the vast abyss your revels keep!
Or ye, fair natives of our earthly scene,
Who range the wilds, or haunt the pasture green!
Nor thou, vain lord of earth, with careless ear
The universal hymn of worship hear!
But ardent in the sacred chorus join,
Thy soul transported with the task divine!
While by his works th' Almighty is confess'd,
Supremely glorious, and supremely bless'd!
Great Lord of life! from whom this humble
Derives the pow'r to sing thy holy name, [frame
Forgive the lowly Muse, whose artless lay
Has dar'd thy sacred Attributes survey!
Delighted oft through Nature's beauteous field
Has she ador'd thy wisdom bright reveal'd;
Oft have her wishes aim'd the secret song,
But awful rev'rence still withheld her tongue.
Yet as thy bounty lent the reas'ning beam,
As feels my conscious breast thy vital flame,
So, blest Creator, let thy servant pay
His mite of gratitude this feeble way;
Thy goodness own, thy Providence adore
And yield thee only-what was thine before.
§ 38. The Day of Judgement: a Seatonian
Prize Poem. By Dr. Glynn.
THY Justice, heav'nly King! and that great day,
When Virtue, long abandon'd and forlorn,
Shall raise her pensive head; and Vice, that erst
Rang'd unreprov'd and free, shall sink appall'd;
I sing advent'rous-But what eye can pierce
The vast immeasurable realms of space,
O'er which Messiah drives his flaming car
To that bright region, where enthron'd he sits,
First-born of Heav'n, to judge assembled worlds,
Cloth'd in celestial radiance? Can the Muse,
Her feeble wing all damp with earthly dew,
Sore to that bright empyreal, where around
Myriads of angels, God's perpetual choir,
Hymn hallelujahs, and in concert loud
Chant songs of triumph to their Maker's praise?—
Yet will strive to sing, albeit unus'd
To tread poetic soil. What though the wilds
Of Faucy, me enchanted, ne'er could lure
To rove o'er fairy lands; to swim the streams
That through her valleys wave their mazy way;
Or climb her mountain tops; yet will I raise
My feeble voice to tell what harmony
(Sweet as the music of the rolling spheres)
Attunes the moral world: that Virtue still
May hope her promis'd crown; that Vice maydread
Vengeance, though late; that reas'ning Pride
Th' untutor'd Indian dreams of happier worlds
Behind the cloud-topt hill? Why in each breast
Is plac'd a friendly monitor, that prompts,
Informs, directs, encourages, forbids?
Tell, why on unknown evil grief attends,
Or joy on secret good? Why conscience acts
With tenfold force, when sickness, age, or pain
Stands tott'ring on the precipice of death?
Or why such horror gnaws the guilty soul
Of dying sinners, while the good man sleeps
Peaceful and calm, and with a smile expires?
Look round the world! with what a partial hand
The scale of bliss and mis'ry is sustain'd!
Beneath the shade of cold obscurity
Pale Virtue lies; no arm supports her head,
No friendly voice speaks comfort to her soul,
Nor soft-eyed Pity drops a melting tear;
But, in their stead, Contempt and rude Disdain
Insult the banish'd wanderer: on she goes,
Neglected and forlorn: Disease and Cold,
And Famine, worst of ills, her steps attend!
Yet patient, and to Heaven's just will resign'd,
She ne'er is seen to weep, or heard to sigh.
Now turn your eyes to yon sweet-smelling bow'r,
Where, flush'd with all the insolence of wealth,
Sits pamper'd Vice! For him th' Arabian gale
Breathes forth delicious odours; Gallia's hills
For him pour nectar from the purple vine.
Nor think for these he pays the tribute due
To Heav'n: of Heav'n he never names the name,
Save when with imprecations dark and dire
He points his jest obscene. Yet buxom Health
Sits on his rosy cheek; yet Honor gilds
His high exploits; and downy-pinion'd Sleep
Sheds a soft opiate o'er his peaceful couch. [this,
Seest thou this, righteous Father! seest thou
And wilt thou ne'er repay? Shall good and ill
Be carried undistinguish d to the land
Where all things are forgot?-Ah, no! the day
Willcome when Virtue from the cloud shall burst,
That long obscur'd her beams, when Sin shall fly
Back to her native Hell; there sink eclips'd
In penal darkness; where no star shall rise,
Nor ever sunshine pierce th' impervious gloom.
On that great day the solemn trump shall sound,
(That trump which once in heav'non man's revolt
Convok'd th' astonish'd seraphs) at whose voice
Thunpeopled graves shallpour forth all their dead.
Then shall th' assembled Nations of the Earth
From ev'ry quarter at the judgement-seat
Unite; Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks,
Parthians; and they who dwelt on Tiber's banks,
Names fam'd of old: or who of later age,
Chinese and Russian, Mexican and Turk,
Tenant the wild terrene; and they who pitch
Their tents on Niger's banks; or, where the sun
Pours on Golconda's spires his early light,
Just, though unsearchable, the ways of Heav'n.
Sceptic! whoe'er thou art, who say'st the soul,
That divine particle which God's own breath
Inspir'd into the mortal mass, shall rest
Annihilate, till Duration has unroll'd
Her never-ending line; tell, if thou know'st,
Why every nation, every clime, though all
In laws, in rites, in manners disagree,
With one consent expect another world,
Where wickedness shall weep? Why Paynim-Drink Ganges' sacred stream. At once shall rise,
Fabled Elysian plains, Tartarian lakes, [bards,
Styx and Cocytus? Tell, why Hali's sons
Have feigu'd a paradise of mirth and love,
Banquets, and blooming nymphs? Or rather tell,
Why, on the brink of Orellana's stream,
Where never Science rear'd her sacred torch,
Whom distant ages to each other's sight
Had long denied: before the throne shall kneel
Some great Progenitor, while at his side
Stand his descendants through a thousand lines.
Whate'er their nation, and whate'er their rank,
Heroes and patriarchs, slaves and sceptred kings,
With equal eye the God of all shall see, And judge with equal love. What though the With costly pomp and aromatic sweets [great Embalm'd his poor remains; or through the dome A thousand tapers shed their gloomy light, While solemn organs to his parting soul Chanted slow orisons? Say, by what mark Dost thou discern him from that lowly swain Whose mould'ring bones beneath the thorn-bound Long lay neglected? All at once shall rise, [turf But not to equal glory; for, alas! With howlings dire, and execrations loud, Some wail their fatal birth.-First among these, Behold the mighty murd'rers of mankind: They who in sport whole kingdoms slew; or they Who to the tott'ring pinnacle of power [curse Waded through seas of blood! How will they The madness of ambition! how lament [wife Their dear-bought laurels; when the widow'd And childless mother at the judgement seat [they Plead trumpet-tongu'd against them!-Here are Who sunk an aged father to the grave; Or with unkindness hard, and cold disdain, Slighted a brother's suff'rings.-Here are they Whom fraud and skilful treachery long secur'd; Who from the infant virgin tore her dow'r, And ate the orphan's bread; who spent their In selfish luxury; or o'er their gold [stores Prostrate and pale ador'd the useless heap. Here too who stain'd the chaste connubial bed!-Who inix'd the peis'nous bowl;-or broke the Of hospitable friendship; and the wretch [ties Whose listless soul, sick with the cares of life, Unsummon'd, to the presence of his God Rush'd in with insult rude. How would they joy Once more to visit earth, and, though oppress'd With all that pain and famine can inflict, Pant up the hill of life? Vain wish! the judge Pronounces doom eternal on their heads, Perpetual punishment. Seek not to know What punishment! for that th' Almighty will Has hid from mortal eyes: and shall vain man With curious search refin'd presume to pry Into thy secrets, Father? No! let him With humble patience all thy works adore, And walk in all thy paths; so shall his meed Be great in Heav'n, so haply shall he 'scape Thimmortal worm and never-ceasing fire. But who are they, who bound in tenfold chains Stand horribly aghast? This is that crew Who strove to pull Jehovah from his throne, And in the place of heaven's eternal King Set up the phantom Chance. For them in vain Alternate seasons cheer'd the rolling year; In vain the sun o'er herb, tree, fruit, and flow'r Shed genial influence mild; and the pale moon Repair'd her waning orb.-Next these is plac'd The vile blasphemer; he whose impious wit Profan'd the sacred mysteries of faith, And 'gainst th' impenetrable walls of Heav'n Planted his feeble battery. By these stands The Arch-Apostate: he with many a wile Exhorts them still to foul revolt. Alas! No hope have they from black despair, no ray
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In agonies of grief they curse the hour
When first they left Religion's onward way.
These on the left are rang'd: but on the right
A chosen band appears, who fought beneath
The banner of Jehovah, and defied
Satan's united legions. Some, unmov'd
At the grim tyrant's frown, o'er barb'rous climes
Diffus'd the Gospel's light: some long immur'd
(Sad servitude!) in chains and dungeons pin'd;
Or, rack'd with all the agonies of pain,
Breath'd out their faithful lives. Thrice happy
Whom Heav'n elected to that glorious strife!—
Here are they plac'd, whose kind munificence
Made heaven-born Science raise her drooping
And on the labors of a future race [head;
Entail'd their just reward. Thou amongst these,
Good Seaton! whose well-judg'd benevolence
Fost'ring fair Genius, bade the poet's hand
Bring annual off'rings to his Maker's shrine,
Shall find the generous care was not in vain —
Here is that fav'rite band, whom mercy mild,
God's best-lov'd attribute, adorn'd; whose gate
Stood ever open to the stranger's call;
Who fed the hungry; to the thirsty lip
Reach'd out the friendly cup; whose care benign
From the rude blast secur'd the pilgrim's side;
Who heard the widow's tender tale, and shook
The galling shackle from the pris'ner's feet;
Who each endearing tie, each office knew
Of meek-eyed, heaven-descended Charity.
O Charity, thou nymph divinely fair!
Sweeter than those whom ancient poets bound
In amity's indissoluble chain,
The Graces! how shall I essay to paint
Thy charms, celestial maid! and in rude verse
Blazon those deeds thyself didst ne'er reveal ?
For thee nor rankling Envy can infect,
Nor Rage transport, nor high o'erweening Pride
Puff up with vain conceit: ne'er didst thou
To see the sinner as a verdant tree
Spread his luxuriant branches o'er the stream;
While, like some blasted trunk, the righteous fall
Prostrate, forlorn. When prophecies shall fail,
When tongues shall cease, when knowledge is
And this great day is come, thou by the throne
Shalt sit triumphant. Thither, lovely maid!
Bear me, O bear me on thy soaring wing,
And through the adamantine gates of Heav'n
Conduct my steps, safe from the fiery gulph
And dark-abyss, where Sin and Satan reign!
But can the Muse, her numbers all too weak,
Tell how that restless element of fire
Shall wage with seas and earth intestine war,
And deluge all creation? Whether (so
Some think) the comet, as through fields of air
Lawless he wanders, shall rush headlong on
Thwarting th'ecliptic, where th'unconcious earth
Rolls in her wonted course; whether the sun
With force centripetal into his orb
Attract her, long reluctant; or the caves,
Those dead volcanos, where engend'ring lie
'Shrink like a shrivell'd scroll! But think, OLord, "Think on the best, the noblest of thy works; "Think on thine own bright image! Think
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Sulphureous minerals, from the dark abyss
Pour streams of liquid fire; while from above,
As erst on Sodom, Heaven's avenging hand
Rains fierce combustion.-Where are now the
Of art, the toil of ages?-Where are now [works"
Th' imperial cities, sepulchres and domes,
Trophies and pillars? Where is Egypt's boast,
Those lofty pyramids, which high in air
Rear'd their aspiring heads, to distant times
Of Memphian pride a lasting monument ?—
Tell me where Athens rais'd her tow'rs? where
Thebes
Open'd her hundred portals?-Tell me where
Stood sea-girt Albion? where Imperial Rome,
Propt, by seven hills, sat like a sceptred queen,
And aw'd the tributary world to peace?—
Show me the rampart which o'er many a hill,
Through many a valley, stretch'd its wide extent,
Rais'd by that mighty monarch to repel
The roving Tartar, when with insult rude
'Gainst Pekin's tow'rs he bent th' unerring bow.
But what is mimic art? E'en Nature's work,
Seas, meadows, pastures, the meand'ring streams,
And everlasting hills, shall be no more.
No more shall Teneriff, cloud-piercing height!
O'erhang th' Atlantic surge; nor that fam'd cliff,
Thro' which the Persian steer'd with many a sail,
Throw to the Lemnian isle its evening shade
O'er half the wide Ægean.-Where are now
The Alps that confin'd with unnumber'd realms,
And from the Black Sea to the ocean stream
Stretch'd their extended arms!-Where's Ararat,
That hill on which the faithful patriarch's ark,
Which seven long months had voyag'd o'er its top,
First rested, when the earth with all her sons,
As now by streaming cataracts of fire,
Was whelm'd by mighty waters?-All at once
Are vanish'd and dissolv'd; no trace remains,
No mark of vain distinction: heaven itself,
That azure vault, with all those radiant orbs,
Sinks in the universal ruin lost.
No more shall planets round their central sun
Move in harmonious dance; no more the moon
Hang out her silver lamp; and those fix'd stars,
Spangling the golden canopy of night,
Which oft the Tuscan with his optic glass
Call'd from their wondrous height, to read their
And magnitude, some winged minister [names
Shall quench; and (surest sign that all on earth
Is lost) shall rend from heaven the mystic bow.
Such is that awful, that tremendous day,
Whose coming who shall tell? For as a thief
Unheard, unseen, it steals with silent pace [I sit,
Through night's dark gloom-Perhaps as here
And rudely carol these incondite lays, [mouth
Soon shall the hand be check'd, and dumb the
That lisps the falt'ring strain.-O may it ne'er
Intrude unwelcome on an ill-spent hour;
But find me wrapt in meditations high,
Hymning my great Creator!-
"Pow'r Supreme!
"O everlasting King! to thee I kneel,
"To thee I lift my voice. With fervent heat
"Melt, all ye elements! And thou high heav'n,
Who died to save us from thy righteous wrath;
And 'midst the wreck of worlds remember man!
§ 39. On the Deity. Mrs. Barbauld.
I READ God's awful name emblazon'd high,
With golden letters on th' illumin'd sky;
Nor less the mystic characters I see,
Wrought in each flower, inscrib'd on ev'ry tree;
In ev'ry leaf that trembles to the breeze
I hear the voice of God among the trees.
With thee in shady solitudes I walk,
With thee in busy crowded cities talk;
In every creature own thy forming power,
In each event thy providence adore.
Thy hopes shall animate my drooping soul,
Thus shall I rest, unmov'd by all alarms,
Thy precepts guide me, and thy fear control:
Secure within, the temple of thine arms,
From anxious cares, from gloomy terrors free,
And feel myself omnipotent in thee.
Then when the last, the closing hour draws
And earth recedes before my swimming eye;
When trembling on the doubtful edge of fate
I stand, and stretch my view to either state;
Teach me to quit this transitory scene
With decent triumph and a look serene;
Teach me to fix my ardent hopes on high,
And, having liv'd to thee, in thee to die.
§ 40. HYMNS. By Mrs. Barbauld.
Quid prius dicam solitis Parentis
Laudibus? qui res hominum ac deorum,
Qui mare ac terras, variisque mundum
Temperat horis ?
JEHOVAH reigns: let ev'ry nation hear,
And at his footstool bow with holy fear;
Let Heav'n's high arches echo with his name,
And the wide peopled earth his praise proclaim;
Then send it down to hell's deep glooms re-
sounding,
[ing,
Thro' all her caves in dreadful murmurs sound.
He rules with wide and absolute command
O'er the broad ocean and the stedfast land;
Jehovah reigns, unbounded and alone,
And all creation hangs beneath his throne:
He reigns alone; let no inferior nature
Usurp or share the throne of the Creator.
He saw the struggling beams of infant light
Shoot thro' the massy gloom of ancient night;
His spirit hush'd the elemental strife,
And brooded o'er the kindling seeds of life:
Seasons and months began the long procession,
And measur'd o'er the year in bright succession.
The joyful sun sprung up th' ethereal way,
Strong as a giant, as a bridegroom gay;
And the pale moon diffus'd her shadowy light
Superior o'er the dusky brow of night;
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